Fluid-pressure engine.



- ma ma.

A.'VALENTE. FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE. APPLICATION FlllED MAY 41 1915.

Patented May 16, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET M'Qij 'w 1y 1 6 I 1 h iinesses: Znvenioz flliornex THE COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH cu., WASHINGTON. D. C4

A. VALENTE.

FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, I915.

1,183,112. Patented May16,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

7 1s 3 Z fig. 2.

Ii 22 31 \b if 12 241 4 I 4 J 16 20 w 32- 5 m 10 g 10* g 2 0 1 I .34 5s @W 55 10 [II X: zg M 32 I 2? h iihfisses: Inventor WWW y diemdar 0 mm,

THE COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH 50., wAsi-lmu'rmg-vn. a

pairs es a'rnnr men.

ALESSANDRO VALENTE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOB. OF ONE-HALF TO MICHAEL CURZON AND SAMUEL CURZON, BOTH OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

FLUID-PRESSURE ENGINE.

insane.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, M1916.

Application filed. May 4, 1915. Serial No. 25,833.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALnssANnno VALENTE, a subject of His Majesty the King of Italy, residing at London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to Fluid-Pressure Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates inter alien to rotary steam engines particularly of the radial revolving cylinder type.

An object of the invention is to promote the thermodynamic efliciency of the engine treated as an independent machine apart from the boiler and the source of heat.

Another object is to minimize and also equally distribute the stress to which the cylinder Walls are ordinarily subject in the engines referred to by the ebb and flow of temperature or misapplication of heat which occurs through the alternate heating and cooling of the cylinder walls.

A further object is to preserve better the form of the cylinders particularly so far as form degradation is influenced by (a) inconstant and nonuniform temperature of the cylinder walls, and (b) unequally distributed axial pressure upon the pistons which tends to hold the pistons in closer contact with one part of the cylinders than another and gives rise to distortion of the walls, undue wear and premature leakage.

In the rotary steam engine according to the present invention each cylinder is formed so that its wall is furnished with a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations, a passagefor supplying working steam to all of thersaid passages or perforations in unison, said longitudinal passages or perforations leading into the interior of the cylinder, or a passage connecting all longitudinal passages or perforations with each other and with the interior of the cylinder being provided, to pass a given volume of working steam to or from the cylinder while apportioning such working steam around the cylinder wall to realize a beneficial action thereon comparable or similar to that which would be derivable by steamjacketing the cylinder; an expedient how ever whose adoption in engines of the class referred to various difficulties militate, e. 9., the difficulty of making and maintaining fluid tight connections, whereas according to this invention, a virtual steam-jacketing or an approximation thereto is secured by apportioning a set or series of longitudinal passages or perforations around the cylinder wall so as to be contained by the exterior and interior surfaces thereof, and connecting these as a unitary whole with a steam distributer or valve on the one hand and with the cylinder head on the other hand. Thus, inter alia, connection complexities are avoided, and the aforedescribed advantages aregained, notably in virtue of the more even distribution of the volume of steam in the cylinder which is possible, the more nearly uniform temperature at which the different parts of the wall of the cylinder can be kept and the better insulation of the steam path to and from the distributer which is realizable and which enables a more nearly constant temperature of the cylinder walls to be secured.

A form of engine under this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front view of an engine according to this invention with part of the casing removed and partly illustrated in section and partly inelevation. Fig. 2 is a sectional side view of an engine, some parts being broken away. Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of a piston cylinder.

In the illustrated form, the engine comprises a revolving casing, furnished in a de tachable manner with a pentad, of radial piston cylinders 2, each of which may have its head and wall inseparably united as an integral walled structure as shown and in each of which a reciprocating piston 3 is fitted. The cylinders may be fluid-tightly united with the casing l in any appropriate detachable manner, that shown, consisting in providing an eXteriorly threaded extension 4: at the inner end of each cylinder for screwing into a corresponding threaded radial opening in a side of the pentagonal casing 1. At the clearance end of the cylinder this is furnished with an interior annular recess 5, while at the base of the cylinder wall an annular recess 6 is provided, these annular recesses 5 and 6 being made common to a series or set of longitudinal passages 7 ranged around and running through the wall of the cylinder 2 as a substantially evenly distributed series suited to pass a given volume of steam while apportioning it around said wall for the purpose afore specified.

The cylinder receiving faces of the casing 1 are each furnished with an annular recess 8 corresponding to and adapted to register with the annular recess 6 of the companion cylinder to thereby form an annular cham ber in common with the cylinder on the one hand by means of the series or set of longitudinal passages 7, and with the steam distributer on the other hand by a passage leading from the annular chamber to the steam distributer.

Gonveniently and advantageously the casing 1 is constructed as shown with an integral walled end 9, this end being perforated for the purpose of mounting the casing on the engine shaft 10. Through such end wall 9 passages 11 lead to the outer face thereof from the annular cha1nbers (l. 8 one passage 11 to each chamber 6, 8. The passages 11. are preferably set so as to generate a cone whose apex is directed toward the steam distributer so as to substantially conform to the dimensions reasonably requisite for this. The outer face of the end wall 9 is recessed to form an an nular shoulder 12 adapted to fit over the periphery of a ported disk 13 which is conveniently detachably fastened as by dowels to the end wall 9 to revolve therewith and which is formed with a circle of ports 14. in number corresponding to the number of cylinders 2, one port 14 registering with one passage 11.

In face contact with the ported disk 13 is a distributing valve arrangement 15, 16 of a suitable construction. The distributing valve arrangement is detachably fastened as by dowels to a passaged carrier 17 for live and evhaust steam pipes 18 and 19, the passages 20 and 21 of the carrier 17 registering with the respective ports of the distributer.

The ported disks 13, 15 and 16 and the carrier 17 are perforated for the passage of the shaft. and substantial fluid tight seating or contact of the companion ported members with each other and With the end wall 9 and the carrier 17 is conveniently and advantageously realized in an already proposed manner by a cylindrical spiral spring 27 adapted to be compressed the desired amount by a screw-nut 28 engaging a screw thread 29 on the shaft 10, the nut 28 also forming one positioning abutment for the engine'of which the other abutment may be a screw nut screwed onto the shaft 10.

Each piston is linked to a crank 30 of the shaft 10 in any appropriate manner and the open end of the casing 1 is closed by a detachable end plate 31, forming also a bearing for the shaft 10; suitable anti-frictiOn thrust bearing and packing provision being made wherever necessary. One of the connecting links may be made a master link in known manner, or in other appropriate manner the pistons may be controlled as to motion and stroke.

As a means of supplying lubricantto the working parts the shaft 10 and crank 30 is furnished with passages leading to the crank bearing and the crank chamber, whence by centrifugal force the lubricant will be fed to the pistons.

Pressure set up in the crank chamber is suitably relieved as by venting through a short pipe 35 and through a passage 36 in th shaft. The exhaust steam may be lead to other working cylinders, or to the' outside air, or to a condenser.

The longitudinal perforations of the cylinder wall may be formed in diverse ways, 0. y., they may be bored or cast in a one piece wall or they may he constitutedby the bringing together of interior'an-d eX- terior shells which are suitably exteriorly and (or) interiorly contoured respectively to produce the perforations, the shells being combined to form or virtually form in use an integral walled structure. The number of cylinders may be varied to suit requ'irements.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pattent is 1. In a rotary steam engine of the revolving cylinder type, a cylinder having itswall furnished with a series or set oflongitudin al passages or perforations, a passage for supplying working steam to all of the said passages or perfora-tions in unison, said longitudinal passages or perforationsleading into theinterior of the cylinder.

2. In a rotary steam engine of the revolving cylinder type, a cylinder having its wall furnishedwith a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations, a passage for supplying working steam to all of the said passages or perforations in unison, and a passage connecting all said longitudinal passages or perforations with each other and with the interior of'the cylinder.

3. Thecombination of ,a crank shaft,a rotary cylinder carrier mounted thereon, a plurality of cylinders carried by said carrier as a unit group ranged around said shaft, said cylinders having their pistons linked to the crank of said shaft, a distributer for controlling the admission and exhaust of working steam to and from the cylinders, and means'connecting the cylinders behind the pistons with said distributor, said means comprising a cellular structure of the cylinder walls furnishing each cylinder wallwith a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations running therethrough, passaged connections between said distributer and said longitudinal passages or perforationsfor supplying working steam to all of the said longitudinal passages or perforations in unison, said longitudinal passages or perforations leading into the interior of the cylinder.

4:. The combination of a crank shaft, a rotary cylinder carrier mounted thereon, a plurality of cylinders carried by said carrier as a unit group ranged around said shaft, said cylinders having their pistons linked to the crank of said shaft, a distributer for controlling the admission and exhaust of working steam to and from the cylinders, and means connecting the cylinders behind the pistons with said distributer, said means comprising a cellular structure of the cylinder walls furnishing each cylinder wall with a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations running therethrough, passaged connection between said distributer and said longitudinal passages or perforations for supplying working steam to all of the said longitudinal passages or perforations in unison, and a passage connecting all said longitudinal passages or perforations with each other and with the interior of the cylinder.

5. The combination of a crank shaft, a rotary cylinder carrier mounted thereon, a plurality of cylinders detachably secured to said rotary cylinder carrier as a unit group ranged around said shaft, said cylinders having their pistons linked to the crank of said shaft, a distributor for controlling the admission and exhaust of working steam to and from the cylinders, and means connecting the cylinders behind the pistons with said distributer, said means comprising a cellular structure of the cylinder walls furnishing each wall with a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations running therethrough, passaged connection between said distributer and said longitudinal passages or perforations for supplying working steam to all of the said longitudinal passages or perforations in unison, said longitudinal passages or perforations leading into the interior of the cylinder.

6. The combination of a crank shaft, a r0 tary cylinder carrier mounted thereon, a plurality of cylinders detachably secured to said rotary cylinder carrier as a unit group ranged around said shaft, said cylinders having their pistons linked to the crank of the said shaft, a distributor for controlling the admission and exhaust of working steam to and from the cylinders, and means connecting the cylinders behind the pistons with said distributer, said means comprising a cellular structure of the cylinder walls furnishing each cylinder wall with a series or set of longitudinal passages or perforations running therethrough, passaged connection between said distributor and said longitudinal passages or perforations for supplying working steam to all of the said longitudinal passages or perforations in unison, and a passage connecting all said longitudinal passages or perforations with each other and with the interior of the cylinder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ALESSANDRO VALENTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner oi Patents, Washington, D. G. 

